The sale of Scottish carrier Loganair by owners Stephen and Peter Bond has been halted, with the two brothers set to retain their control of the company for the “foreseeable future”. The carrier says that the owners “are fully supportive of its progress and continued development,” continuing their more than 25 years of engagement with the airline. The sale suspension “allows the company to complete the re-fleet programme and address the specific issues impacting the world-wide supply chain availability and costs,” state Stephen and Peter Bond. “There has never been a time-bound reason for the sale of Loganair, and we remain committed to the company until both the right time and custodian to acquire the company is chosen.” Loganair's sale was originally announced in October 2022, with the regional carrier conducting due diligence on potential buyers in February of this year, chief executive Jonathan Hinkles said at the time. He added that Loganair was attracting interest from buyers, including from beyond the aviation sector. Peter and Steven Bond have held stakes in the company since the late-1990s, viewing Loganair as an emotional investment as well as a financial one, said Hinkles. Loganair is deeply connected to many of the communities it serves, providing an essential service to many of Scotland’s islands. As part of the latest announcement, the airline notes that it is trading profitably and free of debt. Its fleet renewal programme is expected to be completed by the first quarter of 2024 with the retirement of four Saab 340 turboprop aircraft, being replaced by ATR 72-600s. “A multi-million pound refurbishment programme and upgrade of on-board systems for Loganair’s 13 Embraer 145 regional jet aircraft is also under way and will be completed over the next 12 months,” it says.

US Federal Aviation Administration administrator nominee Mike Whitaker faced scrutiny from lawmakers on 4 October about the agency's shortcomings, including its slow implementation of laws and air traffic controller shortage, exerting pressure on him to hold the FAA to a higher standard if confirmed. Despite that scrutiny, Republican members of the Senate Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation during that hearing signaled they are more receptive to Whitaker's credentials compared with those of Phil Washington, the previous nominee to lead the FAA selected by US president Joe Biden, a Democrat. Washington had withdrawn from his confirmation process in March amid an expected lack of approval votes for his confirmation following scrutiny during a hearing earlier that month with that Senate committee. Washington is the Denver International airport chief but faced criticism from Republicans about whether he had enough aviation career experience. Senator Ted Cruz, the ranking Republican on that committee, had called Washington "unqualified" and was a top opponent of his nomination. Whitaker was the deputy FAA administrator from 2013 to 2016, which the committee's chair Senator Maria Cantwell says boosts his credentials to run the agency in part because of his previous role in the ongoing NextGen programme to improve US airspace management and prepare for new technologies including advanced air mobility. "Like its workforce, FAA safety systems and technology must also be upgraded to keep pace with 21st century innovations," Cantwell says, noting the need to hire new air traffic controllers and other safety personnel prepared for new technologies. Whitaker is the chief operating officer of electric air mobility vehicle manufacturer Supernal, which is owned by Hyundai Motor Group. Before joining the FAA, Whitaker had also worked at both United Airlines and IndiGo parent company InterGlobe Enterprises. United supports his nomination, stating: "Now more than ever, the FAA needs strong leadership".
His past FAA experience also raised questions about how he would do things differently compared with his previous tenure as its second in command. In response to questions asked by Cruz, Whitaker had said that he did not work on the safety certification review of Boeing 737 Max aircraft when he was deputy FAA administrator. In the wake of two fatal Max crashes during which 346 people died, investigations by that Senate committee and its US House counterpart criticised the FAA process that allowed Boeing to conduct parts of the certification for Max aircraft on behalf of regulators. Boeing through that process was able to avoid disclosing a safety risk related to Max flight controls that has been attributed as a factor in both fatal crashes, according to reviews by safety agencies of those crashes in Ethiopia and Indonesia. Congressional investigations of the Max certification resulted in a new law mandating tighter FAA certification in 2020 and greater scrutiny of the agency in congressional hearings. Addressing the fatal Max crashes in his opening statement, Whitaker said "the FAA must finish implementing the remaining provisions of the certification reform legislation passed by Congress". "These changes, along with other actions the FAA has taken, will ensure that gaps in the certification process are fully closed, and that we are able to catch risks even when they are not disclosed," Whitaker says. The shortage of air traffic controllers in the USA was another area that received bipartisan attention during the hearing. Responding to a question from Cruz about whether he would push to open a second academy to train new controllers faster, Whitaker agreed that he would, adding: "We just simply need to solve this problem" that increases congestion at airports and reduces response times to incidents including severe weather. Promises from Whitaker to lawmakers also included a pledge to accelerate the FAA's slow pace of implementing congressional rules, as the FAA has a backlog of 14 mandated by Congress in 2012. Bipartisan support for Whitaker's nomination at the start of the hearing came from an unorthodox source: House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee chairman Sam Graves, the lead Republican on the counterpart of the Senate committee. "I believe Mr. Whitaker has the level of experience that the position of FAA administrator demands," Graves said in a statement at the hearing. That bipartisan support carries extra importance for Whitaker's confirmation process amid a divided Congress that on 1 October narrowly avoided both a government shutdown and the lapse of the FAA's authority as both houses of the legislative branch passed temporary measures. Biden that day enacted a law to keep federal workers paid until 17 November, preventing trainee air traffic controllers from being laid off in a shutdown, and maintaining FAA authority until 1 January 2024. The ability of the House and Senate to agree on an annual government budget became more uncertain on 3 October, when House Republicans ousted Representative Kevin McCarthy as leader of that chamber. Both houses must also agree on a bill to set funding and priorities for the FAA through 2028. The FAA has lacked a confirmed leader since April 2022, when the agency's administrator Steve Dickson departed halfway through his five-year term that began in 2019. The acting administrator since June has been Polly Trottenberg, who was previously deputy secretary of the Department of Transportation.

India has amended its insolvency laws to exclude agreements pertaining to aircraft engines and airframes, paving the way for lessors to repossess planes from debtors in the country. The notification states that certain provisions under its insolvency and bankruptcy code will no longer apply to transactions under the Cape Town Convention. “The provisions of sub-section (1) of section 14 of the Insolvency and Bankruptcy Code, 2016 (31 of 2016), shall not apply to transactions, arrangements or agreements, under the Convention and the Protocol [Cape Town convention and protocol], relating to aircraft, aircraft engines, airframes and helicopters,” states a notice by India's ministry of corporate affairs dated 3 October. Previously, the adjudicating authority could place a moratorium prohibiting the recovery of assets in the possession of debtors by owners or lessors, as was the case for grounded carrier Go First. Go First formally entered insolvency restructuring on 10 May after India's National Company Law Tribunal issued an order under which owners or lessors are prohibited from recovering their assets from the airline. The amendment also came as the Aviation Working Group projected a downgrade of India’s CTC compliance index late September, citing Go First's insolvency proceedings as developments that “negatively implicate CTC non-compliance” in the country.